According to the findings of the studies, which will be presented at the fourth conference for excellence education to be held at the University of Haifa, two of the characteristics of creativity improve during studies. However, there is a quality that you are either born with, or you are not
While several of the characteristics of creativity in mathematics, flow of ideas and flexibility of thought - the ability to find a large number of solutions to a problem and the ability to find different solutions to the same problem - improved significantly during the period of the research conducted with mathematics teachers and high school students, the subjects did not discover a change in the third characteristic of creativity - originality - This is according to a new study conducted in the direction of educating the gifted and outstanding at the Faculty of Education at the University of Haifa and will be presented at the fourth conference for excellence in education in Israel that will be held at the university on Sunday-Monday (April 10-11.4).
"Our hypothesis, following the findings, is that originality is the characteristic of creativity that we are born with and our ability to improve it is very limited," said Prof. Rosa Laikin who headed the study.
The trait "creativity", which is at the center of the perception of outstanding and gifted people, consists, according to the professional literature, of three qualities: fluency of ideas: the ability to find a large number of solutions to a given problem; Mental flexibility: the ability to find different solutions from different directions to the same problem; Originality: an original and unique way of thinking to solve problems.
Prof. Laykin, together with Anat Laban-Weinberg and Raisa Goberman, wanted to check in two different studies whether these qualities of creativity improve during studies. To this end, they developed a research model called MSTs (multiple solution tasks) which examines the examinee's ability in these three qualities by answering a series of mathematical questions.
In the first study, mathematics teaching students who passed the MSTs at the beginning and at the end of the school year were examined. The researchers even divided the class into high-achieving and low-achieving students to see if these characteristics are related to the level of achievement. The findings show that the students from both groups significantly improved the amount of correct answers, the flow of ideas and the flexibility of thought. On the other hand, no significant improvement in originality was found, and in fact there was a significant decrease in this feature.
In the second study, the researchers gave the MSTs to high school students as part of geometry lessons. Here, too, the students were divided into those with high achievements and those with standard achievements. The results were similar: an improvement in both groups in the amount of correct answers, the flow of ideas and the flexibility of thought compared to a slight, and not significant, decrease in originality.
The researchers even found the strongest connection between the originality scores and the general score of creativity and therefore their assumption, which according to them still needs further research tests, is that creativity is the unique characteristic of creativity. "There are different ways to find and determine who is gifted in the field of mathematics. We propose, in light of the findings of our research, to locate the mathematically gifted children according to the level of originality of their ideas and solutions", Prof. Laykin concluded.
The fourth gifted education conference organized by the gifted department at the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Haifa University's Gifted Education Department will be held at the University of Haifa on April 10-11, 2011. International experts from abroad and in the country in the field of gifted education will participate in the conference. The panels will deal with the wide variety of the field of giftedness: giftedness in mathematics, giftedness in art, the differences between outstanding and gifted, giftedness and emotional intelligence and more.
For more details: Ilan Javelberg 0528-666404
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Here is Ada:
And so they didn't do any extrapolation here either.
The word "creativity" describes - in different fields - different things.
Titles are naturally abbreviated but in the body of the article everything is clear and the last lines you even quoted in your response show that the authors of the article are aware of this.
This article did not pretend to explain anything about the subject of creativity in alternative medicine.
The extrapolation from mathematical creativity to other fields is not scientific in its approach.
The name of the article here: "A new study in the direction of gifted education at the University of Haifa reveals what the innate quality of creativity is."
And as for the relevant areas of the panels that are linked to the research done: "The panels will deal with the wide variety of the field of giftedness: giftedness in mathematics, giftedness in art, the differences between outstanding and gifted, giftedness and emotional intelligence and more."
Here is Ada:
The article is about the kind of creativity he talks about, partly because they wanted to leave you and your daughter with topics to explore.
You are welcome to conduct research on creativity in the field of alternative medicine or any other field that seems to you.
On the other hand - it is also allowed to cancel and settle for sarcastic comments. Whoever does this amuses me.
I support response 4.
Choosing mathematics (even for gifted people) as a subject to test creativity - it's really amusing.
And what about the creativity in many and varied fields in those who hate mathematics, or lack talent in this field?
Genius is a combination of genetics and environment.
Isn't there a mistake in the quote in the penultimate paragraph: "that creativity is the unique characteristic of creativity"?
Shouldn't it be written "that originality is the unique characteristic of creativity"?
In my opinion, this is a beautiful study that first and foremost illuminates the wisdom behind breaking creativity down into its components.
The results were expected because indeed - the flow of ideas and the flexibility of thought are mainly the result of broader knowledge (familiarity with different ways of dealing with problems) while originality is by definition something that cannot be learned (since an original thought is, in the extreme case, a thought that no one has thought before, and in its accepted meaning is a thought that is not a consequence of the material studied).
This is indeed the essence and distillation of creativity.
The very decomposition of the concept of creativity into these factors shows that whoever created this decomposition - also anticipated the result.
To me, even the least obvious conclusion of the article - that of the decline in creativity - is understandable and expected.
As a person acquires skill in more ways of solving problems, he is more inclined to rely on his existing knowledge and devotes less effort to inventing a new way of coping.
This is related, in my opinion, to another phenomenon that I know from my experience: I really like to solve puzzles and as a result I also know a lot of puzzles. Many times it happens that someone comes to me with a riddle that I know and in some cases I don't remember the solution immediately. In these cases, I am faced with the dilemma "whether to solve the problem anew (and rely on all the elements of creativity) or try to recall the old solution (based on knowledge)".
This dilemma never faced me at the beginning of my journey where every problem was new.
characterizes most gifted students*
Friends, you must make a distinction between a high analytical thinking ability that usually characterizes most other students, and creativity that is simply innate. Although it is clear that this is an area that can be improved, like almost every profession. I can play soccer for 100 years and I still won't be at Ronaldinho's level (as a response to the one he commented about education). I will be a good player but certainly not at his level. I know people who perceive and calculate and solve problems much faster than me, but in terms of creativity and originality and thinking that is "beyond" they do not exist.. Creativity is the strongest thing that characterizes most geniuses, and it is simply something that is innate..
The study examined the possibility of studying creativity in the context of subjects from a certain age group.
It was interesting to test the thesis on younger age groups.
In this context, in my opinion, the title of the article goes a bit too far.
That is, the fool is actually more stupid than he considers himself.
incidentally,
It is the fools who think they are wise, and the one who is wiser than them is a genius.
The geniuses (as I learned about them) think they are not smart, and the others, as a result, must be stupid.
It's interesting how the ones who are not so smart in their responses are the ones who deny the fact that genius is innate.
Is it out of jealousy?
The use of the word 'creativity' in this study is misleading. According to what is written in the article, what we will examine here is mathematical knowledge or flexibility in mathematics, creativity is a much broader matter. And the short story only means that I know people who barely finished elementary school, but they succeeded in life, very nicely, thanks to creativity and originality.
To the commenter above me. This is clearly not true. Genius is an innate and given thing.
As in the opposite scale of the bell curve, lag is an innate and given thing.
Mozart was clearly born a genius.
At the same time, the environmental factors are very important in the cultivation of the genius.
Nonsense.
The influence of genetics on giftedness and genius is an illusion.
There is an inversion of cause and effect here.
The environment has a decisive influence on the intellect.
Babies are born very similar to each other and equal in abilities - or in fact their inabilities.
Everything has to be taught to them.
What makes the difference is the education and care they receive at home.
Liberal, open, dedicated, attentive parents who gently stimulate the child's curiosity, nurture him personally, put him in the center - will be blessed with gifted and genius children.
The potential exists in every baby.
But not every baby receives care and nurturing like Einstein and others received.
Would Mozart have reached a hundred of his achievements if not for his tough and demanding father?
A baby born undamaged, whose mind is alert and active, who does not suffer from debilitating childhood illnesses, who receives care and love and warmth and hugs and listening unconditionally - will grow up to be a gifted genius.
This whole belief that we are born with it - is a form of racism and race theory.
Hence the distance to "Ashkenazi Jews" or "White Wasps" and unlike the Aryan Nazis they are the glory of the creation of humanity not much.
I suggest to every parent to stop thinking in terms of genetics.
Make sure your children receive dedicated care. Do not leave them in the hands of nannies who know what damage they do to them while you are not at home - and I am not talking about physical abuse but about emotional neglect and a lack of hard work for the small and elusive stages of development. Yes - a child develops in small portions. Slowly. Those who have raised children like me closely know this. Any kindergarten teacher will tell you that the most important thing is a hug, warmth, real listening.
It has long been known that genius is an innate quality. It's not new. It sounds strange to me that only one quality - originality - of creativity is hereditary. Originality and flow of ideas are related to each other: a person who is original probably has a flow of ideas.
For example, Albert Einstein - if you read all of his writings (and I read almost all of his writings and Maccabees) then Einstein grew up in a home where his parents had a particularly flexible mind. They were very liberal. But at the same time when you read his letters - it's complicated because you have to read everything he said in a certain period - then you find out that he himself was a rebel and therefore there is also a hereditary element to it.
Regarding originality and flow of ideas. Einstein was often asked about the matter of heredity and he gave an evasive answer. And his personal secretary also wrote about the same answer he gave to whoever asked him. If you check the writings and letters you can see where the originality comes from and where the flow of ideas comes from. But of course in this short response I can't say more than that.